Pass the Turkey, Say Americans

PRINCETON, NJ -- As Americans get ready to sit down to
Thanksgiving dinner this week, they may be asking their family
members to pass the turkey, but hold the cranberries and
vegetables. A new Gallup Poll, conducted Nov. 19-21, finds that
turkey is Americans' favorite food at Thanksgiving dinner, far
outweighing any other holiday dish. Cranberries or cranberry sauce,
vegetables, and sweet potatoes or yams are the least favorite
foods.

Pass the Turkey …

Gallup asked Americans to identify, without prompting, their
favorite food or dish at their families' usual Thanksgiving dinner.
Nearly half of all Americans, 49%, say turkey is their favorite. No
other food Americans mention comes close to turkey as the preferred
dish. Stuffing or dressing comes in second, mentioned by 14% of
respondents. Ham, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie are each
mentioned by 5% of those polled.

Favorite Thanksgiving Food or
Dish

Thinking about your family's usual Thanksgiving dinner, what
would you say is your favorite food or dish?

Nov 19-21, 2004

%

Turkey

49

Stuffing/dressing

14

Ham

5

Mashed potatoes

5

Pumpkin pie

5

Sweet potatoes/yams

3

Dessert (non-specific)

3

Cranberries/cranberry sauce

2

Casseroles (other)

1

Vegetables (other)

1

Chicken

1

Salad

1

Pecan pie

1

Beef

1

Green bean casserole

1

Other

3

Any/all

2

None

1

No opinion

1

Men and women differ slightly in their preferences for
Thanksgiving dishes. Although turkey is the clear favorite of both
men and women, men are somewhat more likely to say turkey is their
favorite dish. Women are just slightly more likely to say stuffing
or dressing is their favorite food.

Favorite Thanksgiving Food or
Dishby gender
Nov 19-21, 2004

Men

Women

%

%

Turkey

53

45

Stuffing/dressing

11

16

Ham

7

4

Mashed potatoes

3

7

Pumpkin pie

5

6

Sweet potatoes/yams

2

5

Dessert (non-specific)

1

4

Cranberries/cranberry sauce

2

2

While people of all age groups choose turkey as their favorite
Thanksgiving dish, older Americans are much more likely to say so
than are younger Americans.

Favorite Thanksgiving Food or
Dishby age
Nov 19-21, 2004

18- to
29-year-olds

30- to
49-year-olds

50 years
and older

%

%

%

Turkey

40

45

56

Stuffing/dressing

15

16

11

Ham

5

5

6

Mashed potatoes

9

6

3

Pumpkin pie

6

7

3

Sweet potatoes/yams

4

2

3

Dessert (non-specific)

3

3

2

Cranberries/cranberry sauce

2

1

3

… Hold the Cranberries

When asked to name their least favorite food or dish at
Thanksgiving dinner, 21% of Americans mention cranberries or
cranberry sauce. The entire class of vegetables, including squash,
green beans, brussels sprouts, turnips, broccoli, peas, onions or
creamed onions, and others, follows closely behind, at 17%, though
at most 2% mention any specific vegetable. Roughly 1 in 10
Americans (11%) say sweet potatoes or yams are their least favorite
food.

Least Favorite Thanksgiving Food or
Dish

Still thinking about Thanksgiving dinner, what would you say is
your least favorite food or dish?

Nov 19-21, 2004

%

Cranberries/cranberry sauce

21

NET: vegetables

17

Squash

(2)

Green beans

(2)

Brussels sprouts

(2)

Turnips

(2)

Broccoli

(1)

Peas

(1)

Onions/creamed onions

(1)

Other (vegetables)

(6)

Sweet potatoes/yams

11

Stuffing/dressing

6

Turkey

6

Pumpkin pie

3

Green bean casserole

3

Salad

3

Dessert (non-specific)

2

Mashed potatoes

1

Ham

1

Minced meat pie

1

Other (casseroles)

1

Gravy

1

Beef

1

Other

5

Any/all

1

None

12

No opinion

4

The data show essentially no difference between men and women on
this measure, with both groups saying cranberries or cranberry
sauce, vegetables, and sweet potatoes or yams are their least
favorite foods.

The data do show some slight variations by age.

Four types of food are essentially tied as the least preferred
among 18- to 29-year-olds: cranberries/cranberry sauce, stuffing or
dressing, sweet potatoes or yams, and vegetables.

Adults aged 30 to 49 say their least favorite food is
cranberries or cranberry sauce, at 27%. Vegetables follow, at 21%,
and sweet potatoes or yams are next, at 14%.

The least favorite Thanksgiving foods among those aged 50 and
older are vegetables (16%) and cranberries or cranberry sauce
(15%). Turkey and sweet potatoes or yams (7% each) are also
mentioned by adults in this age group as their least favorite
dishes.

Least Favorite Thanksgiving Food or
Dishby ageNov 19-21, 2004

18- to 29-
year-olds

30- to 49-
year-olds

50 years
and older

%

%

%

Cranberries/cranberry sauce

19

27

15

NET: vegetables

13

21

16

Squash

(4)

(3)

(1)

Green beans

(3)

(3)

(1)

Brussels sprouts

(1)

(2)

(2)

Turnips

(--)

(2)

(2)

Broccoli

(2)

(2)

(1)

Peas

(*)

(1)

(1)

Onions/creamed onions

(--)

(1)

(1)

Other (vegetables)

(3)

(7)

(7)

Stuffing/dressing

15

4

5

Sweet potatoes/yams

13

14

7

Turkey

3

6

7

Thanksgiving as the Favorite Holiday?

The poll also asked Americans to determine which of three
upcoming holidays -- Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's -- is
their favorite. Thanksgiving, at 27%, comes in a distant second to
Christmas, at 63%. Only 9% of Americans say New Year's is their
favorite of these three late fall and winter holidays.

Although the majority of people in each age group say Christmas
is their favorite holiday, New Year's fares better among younger
Americans, while Thanksgiving rates better among older
Americans.

Almost the same percentage of Americans aged 18 to 29 pick
Thanksgiving (20%) and New Year's (19%) as their favorite
holidays.

Thanksgiving ranks better than New Year's among 30- to
49-year-olds, by a margin of 26% to 11%.

Among adults aged 50 and older, 30% choose Thanksgiving as
their favorite holiday, compared with just 4% who choose New
Year's.

Favorite Holidayby ageNov 19-21, 2004

18- to
29-year-olds

30- to
49-year-olds

50 years
and older

Thanksgiving

20%

26

30

Christmas

61%

62

63

New Year's

19%

11

4

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,015 adults, aged 18 and older,
conducted Nov. 19-21, 2004. For results based on this sample, one
can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to
sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical
difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into
the findings of public opinion polls.

Recommended

Overall, how healthy would you say your diet is -- very healthy, somewhat healthy, not too healthy, or not at all healthy? Do you feel confident or not confident that the food available at most grocery stores is safe to eat? How much confidence do you have in the federal government to ensure the safety of the food supply in the U.S., would you say you have -- a great deal, a fair amount, not much, or none at all?